A label used in a hazardous environment can come into contact with harsh chemicals, abrasive materials and other elements that will degrade the readability of the label. Labels uses in such hazardous conditions typically have a protective layer applied to the exterior surface of the label to protect the label from the hazardous environment. Currently, labels used in hazardous environments are printed using standard printing processes (i.e., thermal, ink jet or laser) and then in a separate step, they are laminated with a transparent layer to protect the labels from hazardous conditions. The lamination step, while effective, is time consuming and adds expense to the label.